Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 04/18/2006
Two decades into a solid but low-key career, rootsy Canadian
folk-rocker Stephen Fearing is as unfashionable as ever, and it seems he wouldn't have it any other way.
Yellowjacket is
Fearing's eighth solo album, and a return to stripped-down self-production after a slow and gradual creep toward a more polished AAA-radio sound. Crisp and uncluttered, the sound of
Yellowjacket recalls that of a classic
Richard Thompson album minus the guitar heroics. Similarly,
Fearing's songs are unpretentious and charming even when covering such well-worn topics as the siren song of the road (the title track, which seems to be referring to truckstop speed even though the song itself never rises above a sedate amble, and the barroom
rock of
"One Flat Tire") and the pitfalls of parenthood (the slightly soppy
"Love Only Knows"). As comfortable as a favorite old sweater,
Yellowjacket is geared almost exclusively for
Fearing's small but dependable fan base; there's no attempt to reach out into the larger
pop marketplace, and none is required.
~Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
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